Help with extracurriculars

So my sophomore year I haven’t really done anything… I moved to the US from Vietnam and I just felt too nervous and unsure of joining and participating in anything. I had a reasonably hard time moving here and fitting in so that factored in quite a bit and deterred me from doing much. Luckily, I’ve had more than enough free time to plan out what I want to do next year and gain enough confidence which I severely lacked since coming. I guess what I have to ask is how big of an impact this will have on college admissions to the higher competitive schools and is there much way to make up for that. This year I was in the computer science club and a writer for the school newspaper but that’s it. I wanted to join clubs like MUN, debate, soccer (probably JV), honor council, volunteering at animal shelters (which couldn’t be found for some reason), work at an animal hospital, basketball but again this nervousness made this amount to nothing. Assuming that in the 5-6 ap’s I do next year that I do well along with things such as the debate club, honor council, national honor society, newspaper editor, animal shelter volunteer, soccer team (JV or varsity) and the potential creation of a club that helps refugees, would this be enough to cover up and look good for top colleges? Or is it too late/these aren’t enough/not strong ec’s? Luckily these are also activities I would enjoy so they wouldn’t purely be done for colleges.

If the above is true, then do those activities anyway. Anybody can join clubs and volunteer, but the difference is what you do in them. When you join those clubs try for leadership positions. Even if you don’t have a title, show leadership through other actions. IMO it’s better late than never.

Have your Guidance Counselor include the fact that you moved to the US in their recommendation…colleges should know that you went through that.

ECs and leadership can take many forms…

Did you need to help your family or watch your siblings or anything like that when you first got here?
Do you attend a house of worship?
Did you help your parents with English or assimilating or anyting like that?

Do what you enjoy! Use this year to work through your anxiety. Get medical help if you need it…but maybe join a club with a friend? or talk to the adviser of the club and have them introduce you to people in the club. Talk to your GC about your anxiety and see if they can come up with ways to help you feel comfortable.

All of those ECs sound great! I do alumni interviews for a college and I would say that most people don’t really get their ECs going well until Junior year.

Try to find at least one EC that you can show leadership…e.g. newspaper editor, or starting a refugee club or whatever. You don’t have to over do the ECs…GPA is more important.

That’s definitely reassuring that a lot of students don’t fully get into their extracurriculars until junior year. Kind of have to bank on the hope that colleges will not be dismissive of my late start to these clubs if I do even get into them. I did have to watch my sister for quite a portion from the year but it didn’t necessarily limit me from joining other clubs. I am seeing someone for the anxiety and may get into medication soon enough. Thanks for your comment!

Babysitting your sister is something to can put on a college app. They understand that to may have family obligations. Just makes sure to highlight the responsibility that went into that.

I have no experience with college applicatons but I personally wouldn’t list babysitting your sister on an app unless you have absolutely nothing else…again, don’t listen to me unless anyone else agrees with this, I’m a rising sophomore so I have way less experience than most people here.

Also, what are you planning on majoring in/going into in the future? I can probably suggest some other good ECs for you if you want any more

I do alumni interviews and I had one student whose major EC was baby sitting his younger brother…his parents were divorced and worked. But he took over planning activities/sports for his brother and took him to his activities and making sure he got his homework done…So babysitting a sibling is an EC and can also show leadership.